Projected Lineups: Seattle Seahawks

Closing out our review of every team’s lineup as it currently stands, it’s time to cast our eyes over the roster of the defending Super Bowl Champions, the Seattle Seahawks. Deserving winners of the Lombardi Trophy, they know they face a tough challenge in their division once again, with the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals both having strong years in 2013.

Fortunately for the Seahawks, the have an incredibly talented roster, but they do have some issues they need to address with a couple of key contributors scheduled to be free agents. Their defense has five players considered to be high quality or better, and nobody considered to be below average at this stage in their careers.

Key:– Player markers are colored per class on a six-step ‘Poor’ to ‘High Quality’ scale based on their overall performance and the league’s elite are marked separately in blue.– Colored outlines suggest a potential change in class.– Underlined players will be 30+ years old for the 2014 season.– Red player names suggest injury risks.– Click on the image to enlarge.

– Russell Wilson had a late season dip in form for the Seahawks, but he remains a very good quarterback with a bright future. Dangerous with his legs and with an arm to match, the Seahawks are set at the position for the next decade it seems.

– They may not be able to bring Golden Tate back in the end, but the prognosis for the Seahawks wide receivers is good once again. Percy Harvin took his time to get on the field, but when he did his impact was felt. Perhaps the most dynamic offensive player in the game, Seattle will be expecting big things in 2014.

– The weakest area on the team is the offensive line, where James Carpenter and J.R. Sweezy have struggled at guard. Sweezy did have some good performances down the stretch however, and that will give the Seahawks some encouragement that he is continuing to improve.

– With Tony McDaniel and Clinton McDonald, both who impressed last year, scheduled to become free agents, the Seahawks are short on players on the defensive interior. Jordan Hill looks like the most logical choice and, while it’s hard to judge a player on just 65 snaps, he did finish with a positive grade on them.

– The defensive backfield is amongst the most talented of any positional group in the league. Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas are elite, while Kam Chancellor played at that level in the playoffs. An increased role for Jeremy Lane looks likely but he hasn’t looked out of place when he’s been on the field so far.

2014 Cap Situation

At $850k over the cap, only two teams are in worse shape than the Seahawks. That’s not great news when you’re looking to plug a couple of holes created by some impact players and sign a draft class. They have benefitted by not having to spend big at quarterback and defensive back in recent years, but big contracts for Wilson and Sherman are likely looming too. Thankfully there are some big savings to be made.

Potential Casualties

Cutting Sidney Rice would save them $7.3m straight away, with the money better spent elsewhere. Chris Clemons would free up another $7.5m, allowing them to very quickly put themselves in a much more favorable cap position with just two moves.

Opportunities from the Roster

Byron Maxwell looks like a more than capable starter opposite Sherman at cornerback now, while Lane’s success when he’s been on the field should limit the expected loss of Walter Thurmond. It’s a similar story at wide receiver, where Doug Baldwin’s level of play in 2013 will make the team confident that they can handle the potential loss of Tate. Don’t forget that they spent a second round draft pick on running back Christine Michael, and despite playing sparingly, he did look impressive at times, forcing four missed tackles on nine carries against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3. It gives them some solid depth at the position behind Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin and may even see some teams come in with trade offers to try and pry one of the backups away from them.

Gordon has worked at PFF since 2011, and now heads up the company’s special teams analysis processes. His work in-season focuses on college football, while he is also heavily involved in PFF’s NFL draft coverage. Follow @PFF_Gordon

RamblinHamblen

Put some red letters on there for Percy

guest1guest2

hmm. I think irvin starts one way or another–either at leo or slb. I do believe clemons will be cut. I believe bryant will be cut as well unfortunately if the seahawks are to pay bennett. So many ways this could go. I also hope that bailey challenges carpenter for the lg spot. Strong chance a rt is drafted in the first round and bowie plays rg. we’ll see. Okung played hurt this year as well..almost had turf toe. But I think he’s worthy of a blue border but he’ll have to prove that this year. You could really say that about a lot of guys on a lot of teams tho

Jack

Lmao, so Wilson gets the blue outline but Rivers, Brady, and Ben don’t?

Because he’s black, why dont you just say it? Thats what it comes down to doesnt it? I remember a whole lot of white QB’s being on fantastic teams and winning the Superbowl, and they had nothing but glory heaped on them.

Jack

No, it is because the other three are better QB’s. This is no knock on Wilson. But IMO, the six best QB’s are Rodgers, Manning, Brady, Brees, Ben, and Rivers. Wilson is likely falls in the 9th and 10 spot.

Good QB, but he isn’t a borderline elite QB IMO.

Chris

Agree with you. PFF has had a love affair with Wilson for a while now that I can’t seem to understand. They can’t even criticize him without offering a “but, [praise]” at the end. He’s nearly as efficient as any QB in the NFL, but he’s never asked to carry the load like these other QB’s. Efficiency decreases with volume, but that doesn’t seem to apply here because their grading is based on volume. At one point in the season they had Tannehill as a top 10 QB.

Thats total BS. Russell Wilson was a huge bandaid for the offense. The offensive line was decimated by injuries and he still got them to 11-1 with his mobility and play making.

Thomas James

That is a brilliant point Jack, although I would take Russell over Ben at this point. Apparently even PFT can’t always defeat the inevitable post-Super Bowl winner bump in all NFL player grading systems.

Well, that is what QBR is supposed to mean, of course thats silly. I’m just saying that 81 is really good. 100 is the max. If you’re talking passer rating, then 81 is mediocre.

Thomas James

Lol, playing the race card. These are all projections so it is very possible Wilson will outplay every other QB in the NFL next year, but based on 2013 form that would be taking a leap of faith. I have a whole bunch of respect Wilson, he physically reminds me of a young Donovan McNabb with better throws when under pressure and superior leadership qualities. I don’t think Aikman was the best QB from the 90s so you are preaching to the quire here as far as that goes. 😀

Thomas James

Oh right, I can’t use black people as examples. Ok, Wilson reminds me of Jeff Garcia except with a far better physical skill set and he isn’t a complete a*s to everyone he ever worked with.

Brandon Purdy

Yea and Tebow reminds me of P. Manning except he is not accurate. Idiot.

I believe teams with fullbacks gets twelve to account for the fullbacks. Though they might also be putting a second TE or WR on teams that don’t utilize FBs as much.

Thomas James

You should be a coach on the sidelines! 😛 They have done that with all the teams, listing three WR and two TE along with an HB (six eligible football handlers; you are only allowed to have five maximum).

I think this is too pessimistic about the Seahawks resigning players. The cap is going up. There is a very good chance the Seahawks resign both Bennett and Tate. John Schneider said Tate is a priority and they have a very good chance to resign Bennett. If you follow the team you know that they are very straightforward with their public comments, no misdirection so far.

Hannah Hayes

This only takes guys currently on contract into effect. They very well may resign certain players, but those players aren’t currently on the team.

As a Broncos fan, I would like to point out the entire Seahawks roster looked like it should have been rated neon bright blue during the Super Bowl. Pretty sure the ‘Hawks mascot had a touchdown at one point.

Dont feel bad, they do that to everybody. I kept hearing the Seahawks havent seen an offense like Denver? Really? The Patriots with Gronk and Hernandez? New Orleans twice? Aaron Rodgers in 2012 with all his receivers healthy?

I’m 41 years old and ive seen a lot of Superbowls, the only QB’s who were treated like they did nothing really to contribute to it by the national media were Russell Wilson and Doug Williams. They just both happen to be black, if you want to tell me this is because of some other reason i wont believe you.

Jack

Oh please, it has nothing to do with race.

Wilson is being treated similarly to the way Brady was in 2001, and Big Ben when he won 2005 and 2008.

You’re so full of it, you trot out patently false arguments like “Russell Wilson doesnt have a strong arm”, either you are ignorant because you know nothing about football or you are ignorant because you are a racist.

Whats next? Usain Bolt: not very fast.

Jack

Can you read?

Where the hell did I say Wilson had a weak arm? I said Ben’s arm is much stronger, which is just a fact. Ben can complete passes with guys hanging on him, that isn’t a knock on Wilson, very few guys can do that.

I seriously don’t know why you continue to play the race card, no one is bringing Wilson down because he is black. The guys I listed are just better QB’s at this point and that is no knock, two of them are hall of famers(Brady and Ben) and one is borderline(Rivers).

Arm or body strength is only a small factor. Wilson is a winner, who else has a better record the last 2 years. Granted, a 2 year career does not prove greatness at a HOF level, but the kid has met every challenge.

Jack

Oh here comes “he is a winner” garbage. I would think we would be above that on here.

Apparently what you want to hear is that compared to Russell Wilson, all other Quarterbacks in High School, College, and the Pro’s are total Pieces of Crap and should be executed for their pathetic worthlessness. The Hall of Fame should take the busts of all the Quarterbacks and destroy them. All living greats such as Montana, Staubach, etc. should be publicly flogged for their overwhelming patheticness…. haha You are 41? My God you must be from Seattle…

So is anything i say not factual? You talk in abstract terms because you know that everything i say is 100% correct.

RM

Had family move to Seattle…. it took a few years but they turned into absolute arrogant d-bags,,, Russel Wilson Percy Harvin, and Kam Chancellor are all tied to my home state. Seems to me they have a great future. Seeing how comparing Quarterbacks is about as subjective as judging “ice dancing” ( its not like boxing where they enter a ring and fight each other) it is a matter of opinion. Opinions can not be presented as fact. I know this is a shock to a person from Seattle… you are not 100% correct

What i’m saying is that i am offering a valid argument. Example: Peyton Manning is a terrible QB. Thats not a valid argument he clearly is not. Peyton Manning doesnt get it done in pressure situations. Thats a valid argument true or not.

If you want to say that Russell Wilson lacks prototypical height and it will catch up to him eventually, fine, i disagree but its a valid argument.

To say that he has a weak arm is just dumb, its clearly not true.

RM

Fair enough… btw I have very little to say about Russell Wilson. I was just reading the comments and jumped in. I do know he is practically worshiped by Colin Cowheard, Mike & Mike and Peter King. I have not heard anything bad said about him. Now message boards like these are a different story… Find an article on PM or Tom Brady, and half the comments would make you think they are total losers…

Thank you, i can see you’re not a troll like the others. I would say that Russell Wilson is treated differently. Peyton Manning throws a pass right to Kam Chancellor and what does Troy Aikman say? Sometimes that happens.

Russell Wilson throws 3 straight completions converting 2 first downs and Troy Aikman is still talking about the first pass he threw where he missed by 6 inches.

RM

In my opinion it has allot to do with where they are in their careers… PM and Tom Brady are wrapping up HOF careers. They ARE being treated differently, I would say it comes from respect. Many QB’s have had a few great years… But not too many had an entire career of greatness. Time will tell with Wilson. He is off to a great start and seems to have the discipline and character to have a great career…

1coolguy

Wow Scott. Quit your racist postings as they truly show what a fool you are. Just go away. Please

Chris

Interesting that according to you guys, the 49ers have more solid and above players (19) than the Seahawks (17). They also have more cap space and the most draft picks in the NFL. The Seahawks deserve to be favorites going into the season, but anyone talking dynasty needs to slow down.

Russell Wilson has a career passer rating of 100.6 and 1 SB in two years. Not to mention he played a lot better in it.

What else you got? Anything Rothlisberger can do Wilson can do better.

Picklejuice

I think Rothlisberger would make the Hall of Very Good, but not the Hall of Fame. Might also make the Hall of Infamy if he continues to mistreat women during the 4 year waiting period after her retires.

Elly

Wilson has finished top 5 in the past two years in their rankings.
Of course he’s going to have a blue outline. He’s consistently shown he deserves it.

Thomas James

If two years counts as consistency then Priest Holmes should go into the HOF before Tomlinson.

Holy moly, looks like we got a Ben homer on the board. Wilson isn’t the best QB in the league, but he is damn good. Rodgers, Brees, Manning, Brady, etc. But to say Ben is better than Wilson is quite laughable. Ben is a good QB, not a great one, not a top ten QB that’s for sure. He fit the Steelers perfectly, and they won 2 SBs, so you can’t say he isn’t quality. But to act like the guy is Rodgers is very homerish.

Jack

I am actually a Chargers fan.

Ben Roethlisberger is easily a top 10 QB(at worst he is the 6th best QB in the NFL) and the comparison to him and Wilson isn’t even close. Ben is asked to do far more on offense then WIlson is for the Seahawks. Ben is a better pocket passer and just a better overall physical talent.

Thomas James

I agree that Ben is asked to do more with a worse supporting cast at the moment, but they both have extreme physical talent despite what the draft people said about Wilson. Ben is country strong like Elway was (except more injury prone and slightly less mobile) while Wilson is more of a Cunningham/Jeff Garcia/Derek Jeter cross who can make powerfully accurate and acrobatic baseball like throws with a football. I have never seen the latter from any previous NFL player in the 90s and 00s.

Thomas James

Ben would prefer to have Wilson’s supporting cast, I’ll say that much. It is an odd comparison because it is between generations and with all the rule changes the past eight years it is very difficult to do. As far as who should be #6, #7, and #12, couldn’t care less. There are only two types of players in the NFL, those that are part of the problem and those that aren’t. Wilson and Ben both clearly belong to the former category.

Thomas James

Whoops! Mistyped again. I meant they both are not part of the problem. Apparently my typing is part of the problem though. 😛

I was excited about Jesse Williams when they drafted him. I’m very worried about his knees, the Seahawks sent him home to rehab. Not encouraging.

Joe_madre

Dooods… leave the little seasquaks fans alone. They have their super bowl title and so, like little children, they sea everybody on their team as the best there is. They can’t simply accept that they have a great team with a good system that an average qb such as Wilson can thrive in. So long as he doesn’t have to pick the team up and carry it to the finish line he’s solid.

Seattle has a great team? Thank you, it takes quite a few good/great players to make a great team. If Russell Wilson is just average, then you’d agree that the Seahawks should have a lot more solid blue players?